The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1887-05-26

, of the window.
Oh, when rum touches the brain you
: cannot hush it up. My friends, you see
| all around about you the need that some-
thing radical be done. You do not see the
| worst. In the midnight meetings at
| London great multitude has been saved.
| We want few hundred Christian men and
| women to come down from the highem
circles of society to toll amid these wan
| dering and destitute ones and kindle up
| light in the dark alley, even the gladnesa
! of heaven.
Do not 90 wrapped in your fine furs and
| from your well-lilled tables with the idea
that pious talk is going to stop the gnaw-
| ing of an empty stomach or to warm stock
| in0less feet. Take bread, take raiment,
l take medicine as we'll as take prayer. There
| is great deal of common sense in what
the poor woman said to the city missionary
when he was telling her how she ought to
| love God ami serve Him. "Oh," she said,
| @if you we're as poor and cold as am, and
as hungry, you could think of nothing
else."
| A great deal of what is called Christian
| work goes for nothing, for the simple rea-
Son it is not practical; as after the battle
of Antietam a man got out OF an ambu
: lance with bag of tracts, and he went
distributing the tracts. and George Stuart,
one Of the best Christian men in this
country, said to him: what are you dis
tributing tracts for now? There are 5000
men bleeding to death. Bind up their
wounds and then distribute the tracts"
We want more common sense in Chris
tian work, taking the bread of this life in
one hand and the bread Of the next life in
the other hand. No such inspt work as
II Il, J0,,o h,,k ha Hhricfia1 ughn dn -
| ing the last war, went into hospital with
tracts, and, coming to the bed of man
whose legs had been amputated, gave him
a tract on the sin of dancing. l rejoice be-
| fore God that never are sympathetic words
uttered, never prayer offered, never
Christian almsgiving INDUCED in but it is
| blessed.
There is place in Switzerland, have
been told, where the utterance of one word
will bring back score of echoes; and
have TO tell you this morning that SYM
pathetic word, kind word, generous
word, helpful word uttered in the dark
places of the town will bring back 10000
echoes from all the thrones Of heaven.
Are there in this assemblage this morn
! ing those who know by experience the
! tragedies in the third watch of the night!
l am not here to thrust you back with one
! hard word. Take the bandage from your
bruised soul and put on it the soothing
salve of Christ's gospel and of Gods COM
passion. Many have come. l see others
coming to God this morning, tired of the
! sinful life. Cry up the news to heaven.
I Set all the bells ringing. Spread the
| banquet under the arches. Let the crowned
heads come down and sit a. the jubilee.
, tell you there is more delight in heaven
| over one man that gets reformed by the
J grace of God than over ninety and nine
that never got off the track.
| l could give you the history, in minute,
! of one of the best friends ever had. Out
| side of my own family, never had better
| friend. He welcomed me to my home at
the West. He was Of splendid personal
! appearance, but he had an ardor of soul
| and warmth of affection that made me
| love him like brother. I saw men COM
| ing out of the saloons and gambling hells,
and they surrounded my friend, and they
| took him at the weak point his social
nature; and saw him going down, and
had fair talk with him-for ] never yet
saw q man you could not talk with on the
subject of his habits, if you talked with
him in the right way. l said to him: "Why
don't you give up your bad habits and be-
come Christian2" I remember now just
how he looked, leaning over the counter, as
| he replied: II wish / could. Oh, sir,
gone so far astray can't get back
| So the time went on. After awhile the
| day of sickness came. l was summoned to
his sick bed. l hastened. 1t took me but
a very few moments to get there. 1 was
surprised as 1 went in. l saw him in his
ordinary dress, fully dressed, lying on top
of the bed. gave him my hand, and he
seized it convulsively, and said: "Oh, how
glad I am to see you'll Sit down there" 1
| sat down and he said: "Mr. Talmage, Just
| where you sit now my mother sat last night.
| She has been dead twenty years. Now |
don't want you to think | am out of my
mind, or that l am superstitious; but, sir,
she sat there last night just as certainly as
you sit there now-the same cap and apron
| and spectacles. 1t was my old mother
she sat there" Then he turned to his
wife, and said II wish you would take
these strings off the bed; somebody is
wrapping strings around me all the time;
wish you would stop that annoyance" She
said: "There is nothing here" Then I
saw it was delirium.
He said: "Just where you sit now my
| mother sat. and she said: Roswell, wish
you would do better-I wish you would do
better. said: Mother, wish 1 could
do better; try to do better, but can't
Mother, you used to help me; why can't
You help me now? And, sir, got out Of
bed, for it was a reality, and went to her,
and threw my arms around her neck, and
said: Mother, will do better, but you
help; can't do this alone" knelt down
and prayed. That night his soul went to
the Lord that made it.
Arrangements were made for the obse-
quies. The question was raised whether
they should bring him to the church.
Somebody said: "You cannot bring such
dissolute man as that into the church"
said: You will bring him in church; he
stood by me when he was alive, and will
stand by him when he is dead. Bring him."
AS stood in the pulpit and saw them
carrying the body up the aisle, felt as if
could weep tears of blood.
On one side the pulpit sat his little child
of years, sweet, beautiful little girl, that
/ had seen him hug convulsively in his
better moments. He put on her all jewels,
all diamonds, and give her all pictures and
toys, and then he would 90 away, as II
bounded by an evil spirit, to his cups and
the house Of shame-a fool to the correc-
tion Of the stocks. She looked up wonder
ingly. She knew not what it all meant. She
was not old enough to understand the sor.
row Of an orphan child.
On the other side the pulpit sat the men
who had ruined him; they were the men
who had poured the wormwood into the
orphans cup; they were the men who had
bound him hand and foot. knew them.
How did they seem to feel2 Did they
weepp No. Did they say: what a pity
that so generous a man should be de-
stroyed." No. Did they sigh repentingly
over what they had done2 No; they sat
there, looking as vultures look at the car
cass Of lamb whose heart they have
ripped out So they sat and looked at the
coffin lid, and told them the Judgment of
God upon those who had destroyed their
fellows. Did they reform? was told they
were in the places of iniquity that night